Eric Kendall Bowden (30 September 1871 – 13 February 1931) was an Australian politician. A solicitor by profession, he served as Minister for Defence from 1923 to 1925, under Prime Minister

Stanley Bruce Stanley Melbourne Bruce, 1st Viscount Bruce of Melbourne (15 April 1883 – 25 August 1967) was an Australian politician, statesman and businessman who served as the eighth prime minister of Australia from 1923 to 1929. He held office as ...

. He was a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

from 1906 to 1910 and 1919 to 1929.

Early life

Bowden was born in

Parramatta, New South Wales Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...

, the second son of Sarah Anne (née Smith) and John Ebenezer Bowden. His great-grandfather Thomas Bowden had arrived in the colony in 1812 and became one of Parramatta's earliest schoolmasters. Educated at

Newington College Newington College is a multi-campus Independent school, independent Uniting Church in Australia, Uniting Church Single-sex education, single-sex and Mixed-sex education, co-educational Pre-school education, early learning, Primary school, primar ...

(1882-1884) and

Sydney Boys High School Sydney Boys High School ('SBHS'), otherwise known as Sydney High School ('SHS') or simply High, is an Australian government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school for boys, located at Moore Park, New South Wales, a s ...

(1888–92), Bowden qualified as a solicitor in 1894 after serving articles with his father. Four years he later married Reinetta May Murphy. In 1902, he took possession of Endrim, a former

clergy house A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...

previously owned by his father. It is now heritage listed.

Political career

Bowden was an alderman on the Granville Borough Council from 1904 to 1907. He was elected to federal parliament at the 1906 federal election, aged 34, winning the newly created

Division of Nepean The Division of Nepean was an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian Electoral Division in the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales. It was located in the western suburbs of Sydney. It origina ...

for the

Anti-Socialist Party The Free Trade Party (FTP), officially known as the Free Trade and Liberal Association and also referred to as the Revenue Tariff Party in some states, was an Australian political party. It was formally organised in 1887 in New South Wales, in ...

. He was defeated in 1910 after a single term, losing to the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

(ALP) candidate George Cann. At the 1919 election, Bowden recaptured Nepean as a

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

, replacing the retiring member Richard Orchard. He switched to the

Division of Parramatta The Division of Parramatta is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. It was created in 1900 and was one of the List of Australian electorates contested at every el ...

at the 1922 election.

Minister for Defence

replaced

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923. He led the nation during World War I, and his influence on national politics s ...

as prime minister in February 1923, and appointed Bowden as Minister for Defence in the new ministry. His appointment occasioned some surprise, as he had no military experience, was not regarded as a strong speaker, and had shown little interest in defence matters. In 1923, Bowden oversaw the passage of the ''Air Force Act 1923'', the major governing act for the

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

(RAAF) that had been established two years earlier. He also oversaw the introduction of the government's five-year defence programme, which provided for the creation of a cruiser and submarine force. He argued for greater funding for defence to counter the perceived threat of Japan, but also allowed a reduction in funding for the military and naval colleges. Bowden resigned from the ministry in January 1925, citing ill health.

Final years

In his last terms in parliament, Bowden served on the joint select committee on electoral law and as a member of the

royal commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

into the Constitution. He lost his seat at the 1929 election, which saw Labor return to government. Bowden suffered from chronic respiratory disease in his last years and was also in financial difficulties, forcing him to subdivide the land around Endrim. He died suddenly on 13 February 1931 at his home in Parramatta.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowden, Eric Kendall 1871 births 1931 deaths Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Nepean Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Parramatta People educated at Newington College Australian Methodists Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Free Trade Party members of the Parliament of Australia Commonwealth Liberal Party members of the Parliament of Australia Ministers for defence of Australia People educated at Sydney Boys High School Australian MPs 1906–1910 Australian MPs 1919–1922 Australian MPs 1922–1925 Australian MPs 1925–1928 Australian MPs 1928–1929